The Varli of India are a Scheduled Tribe living mostly in the Nashik region, the Thane region and the Dhule region in the state of Maharashtra. Some also live in the Valsad region in the state of Gujarat and in Daman and Diu and in Dadra and Nagar Haveli which are Indian Union territories in the west of India. The Varli are also called Warli.

The Varli speak in a language that is from the southern zone of the Indo Aryan tribal languages and it is not a written language. The name Warli comes from Warla which means a field or piece of land. The main work of the Varli is in agriculture and that which is related to it. They have been growing sufficient crops.

It is easy to find tribal peoples in the west of India and one of them is the Varli.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Varli have festivals they celebrate during the year. They add their local culture to them. They celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights with much enjoyment and they call it Barash. Another festival they have is Kali Puja after the season of crop harvesting. They celebrate festivals with enthusiasm. The Varli have provided a lot through Warli paintings to Indian tribal art and they are nature influenced.

With regards the paintings of the Varli, male gods are not common and they prefer to paint female goddesses. The scenes in them show farming, hunting, fishing, festivals, animals and other forms of nature. They only use the color white for their paintings. Wall paintings are only done on special occasions like harvests and weddings.

Prayer Points

Pray the day will come when they celebrate Jesus Christ with enthusiasm.